Vista-based Sun Diego Boardshops is moving its Carlsbad store in May from the outlet mall to a historic landmark by the sea.

After 10 years at Carlsbad Premium Outlets, the nine-store surf chain's largest shop is taking over the Twin Inns, a Victorian property on Carlsbad Boulevard and Carlsbad Village Drive that most recently housed Ocean House.

The restaurant closed last year after experiencing flood damage. Around the same time, Sun Diego received word that the mall would not be renewing the surf shop's lease because it wasn't operating a traditional outlet location.

Rather than downgrade the quality of their products, Sun Diego owner Dave Nash and Vice President of Operations Pete Conseplano decided it was time to relocate.

"Although this is one of our best stores, we would rather bring the best, most current product to our customers than be an 'outlet' store," Conseplano wrote in an email to U-T San Diego.

It was almost serendipitous when their real estate agent called to tell them the Twin Inns property was available, they said.

They had been interested in that location for years, Conseplano said, but the Ocean House had locked in a longterm deal on the place until it decided not to reopen after the flood.

"We’re always trying to find quality locations especially on the coast," Conseplano explained. "It was just great timing."

Now Sun Diego will be squeezing its wide assortment of surf and skate boards, accessories and apparel into a space about 80 years older and 25 percent smaller than its store in the outlets. And, Nash said, the new rent will be slightly lower.

The company plans to celebrate the building's heritage with museum-like displays featuring historic surfboards and photos of the beach culture in Carlsbad and throughout San Diego County, along with photos of the building.

Its interior will be designed around a turn-of-the-century industrial/Craftsman theme, Conseplano said, and will have a more "premium" look. And while the store at the outlet mall was the first in the industry to have uniform separated vendor sections, the Twin Inns location will allow each vendor to create its own look, as long as it is consistent with the chosen theme.

"Our roots have always been in surf, and in this store we’re definitely planning on presenting a complete story in all categories under the surf umbrella," Conseplano said. "We are putting our heart and soul into this location and certainly hope that the final outcome expresses this."

Sun Diego is also subleasing part of the building to a new restaurant, the Land and Water Company, that will be the first owned and operated by chef Rob Ruiz, formerly of Harney Sushi.

The restaurant and surf shop will be connected by a doorway. Parking may be a challenge for customers, Nash said, but the city is working to improve the parking situation in that area.

The company has slashed prices by 30 to 70 percent off at its outlet mall location in preparation for the move, which is expected to take place the first week of May.

Sun Diego appears to be holding its own in its native Southern California market, despite worldwide turmoil in the surfwear industry. Even as Australian surfwear conglomerate Billabong continues its long wipeout, surf and skate retailers in North America reported modest sales increases in the most recent report from the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association.

Still, the family-owned Sun Diego chain faces the same competition from Internet sales that all bricks-and-mortar stores do, and last week reopened its Westfield North County store after a two-month closure to downsize and remodel it.

Its newest shop opened in May 2013 at the Flower Hill Promenade in Del Mar. It also has a new project on the horizon: Sun Diego expects to open its first San Clemente store in the summer of 2015.